Abstract

This study examined the relationship between principal turnover rate, percentage of minority students, percentage of students with disabilities, and percentage of students who are economically disadvantaged and student achievement in reading/English language arts and math measured by Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on the Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). Eighty-six public middle schools (grades 6-8) comprised the sample for the study; all of these schools were located in Region 1 on the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) School Improvement Map. Data was collected from (AYP) reports publicly accessed on the Georgia Department of Education website. CRCT pass percentages were used to determine student achievement in the areas of math and reading/English language arts. Data was collected on the frequency of principal turnover by email and phone calls to all 86 schools. Data were statistically analyzed through multiple regression. The results showed that principal turnover rates are weakly correlated with student achievement in math and reading/English language arts. However, minority rate, students with disabilities rate and economically disadvantaged rate were significant predictors of reading/English language arts achievement. Additionally, minority rate and economically disadvantaged rate were significant predictors of math achievement.